Scott Mitchell then for a then Thanksgiving Day record 410 yards and four touchdown passes in the Lions' 44-38 win.
Ever since 1934, the Detroit Lions have played on Thanksgiving Day, with the exception of the years 1940-1944.
One of their more memorable Thanksgiving Day contests occurred in 1995 when they hosted their division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings.
The Lions entered the game 5-6, having won their previous two games after starting the season 0-3 and 3-6.
The Lions were led by head coach Wayne Fontes, who was in his seventh full season at the helm in Detroit and along with all-Pro running back Barry Sanders, had helped the Lions to three playoff berths in the previous four seasons, including a trip to the NFC Championship Game in 1991.
But if the Lions were going to be able to make a run for another run to the playoffs, they would have to rely on their quarterback Scott Mitchell, their much-maligned free agent signing before the 1994 season after Mitchell had filled in amicably for the Miami Dolphins when a torn Achilles tendon ended Dan Marino’s season in 1993.
Mitchell struggled in his first season in Detroit as he only threw for 1,456 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions as he was eventually benched in favor of veteran Dave Krieg, who along with Sanders, who finished the season with 1,883 rushing yards, got the Lions to the playoffs only to be knocked out by the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round 16-12 when Sanders was held to -1 yard rushing.
The Lions’ opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, were also in the thick of the playoff race as they held a 6-5 record and were hoping to make it to the playoffs for the fourth straight year under head coach Dennis Green.
The Vikings had no issues with their quarterback as they were led by Warren Moon, who had just celebrated his 39th birthday the previous Saturday, and all-Pro wide receiver Cris Carter, who had set the NFL record for most receptions in a season with 122 catches.
The Lions received the opening kickoff and drove 68 yards in 12 plays for the game’s first touchdown, as Mitchell completed six of seven passes for 71 yards with four of those passes going to Brett Perriman for 45 yards, including the two-yard touchdown that put Detroit up 7-0, 6:46 into the game.
After forcing the Vikings to go three-and-out on their opening possession, the Lions appeared be on their way to another score as they drove from their 41-yard-line to the Minnesota 35-yard-line until Mitchell was picked off by Vikings free safety Orlando Thomas, giving Minnesota the ball at their 20-yard-line.
However, the Vikings would give the ball right back to the Lions four plays later when Moon was sacked by the Lions’ Antonio London, causing a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Henry Thomas at the Minnesota 20-yard-line.
On the very next play, Mitchell found Perriman in the end zone for the 20-yard touchdown to increase the Detroit lead to 14-0 with 1:49 left in the opening quarter.
The Vikings would strike back on their ensuing possession as Moon connected with Reed for a 25-yard reception on the first play of the drive to put Minnesota at midfield, then after an incomplete pass and a five-yard loss by running back Amp Lee, Moon found Reed again, this time for a 55-yard touchdown, which with the extra point, cut the deficit in half, to 14-7 with 19 seconds to go in the first quarter.
The ageless Warren Moon, who had just celebrated his 39th birthday, threw for 384 yards and three touchdown passes.
The Lions responded with another 12-play touchdown drive, this one taking 77 yards and Mitchell’s primary target on the drive by Johnnie Morton as Mitchell completed eight of 10 passes for 83 yards on drive with Morton being on the receiving end on four of those completions for 53 yards, including the 16-yard touchdown to push the Detroit lead back to two touchdowns at 21-7 with 10:03 left in the first half.
The Vikings would quickly get back into scoring position as Qadry Ismail returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to the Lions’ 45-yard-line and a few plays later Minnesota had a 3rd-and-1 at the Detroit 19-yard-line, only to have fullback Charles Evans be dropped for a one-yard loss, forcing a 38-yard field goal attempt by Fuad Reveiz, which he missed keeping the Vikings down 21-7.
Despite the missed field goal, it would be the Vikings special teams that would get Minnesota their next two touchdowns.
The first one came courtesy of David Palmer, who returned the ensuing punt by the Lions, 74 yards for the touchdown to make it 21-14.
Then on the ensuing kickoff, Ron Rivers lost the football which was recovered by Orlando Thomas, who returned the fumble 17 yards for the Vikings’ shocking second touchdown in 14 seconds, which with Reveiz’s extra point tied the game at 21 with over six minutes to go before halftime.
The Lions would respond to Minnesota’s two special teams touchdowns in 14 seconds by driving from their 24-yard-line to the Vikings’ 13-yard-line, thanks to the left arm of Mitchell as he completed three passes for 54 yards.
But the drive would stall as Mitchell threw three straight incomplete passes and the Lions had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Jason Hanson which put the Lions back on top, 24-21 with 2:13 left in the first half.
However, that was just enough time for the Vikings to get another score as they drove 76 yards in eight plays, with a key play being a 45-yard pass from Moon to Reed on 2nd-and-17 at the Minnesota 43-yard-line, with the drive ending on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Moon to Carter to give the Vikings their first lead of the game at 28-24 as the first half come to a close.
The track meet looked to continue in the second half as the Vikings took the ball to start the half and drove 51 yards in 12 plays, as the drive ended on a 49-yard field goal by Reveiz to increase the Minnesota lead to 31-24.
The Lions would respond once again with another scoring drive, but this one led by the legs of Sanders, who had been held in check in the first half as he gained only one yard on 10 carries.
Sanders would carry the ball four times for 23 yards on an eight-play, 54-yard drive that culminated with a 40-yard field goal by Hanson to cut the Vikings’ lead to 31-27 with over five minutes to go in the third quarter.
After a holding penalty on the kickoff pushed them to start their next drive at their eight-yard-line, the Vikings would drive 27 yards until Moon was intercepted on a pass intended for Carter by cornerback Corey Redmond, whose 15-yard return plus 15-yard penalty on Carter for grabbing Redmond’s face mask put Detroit at the Minnesota 27-yard-line.
And just like in the first quarter where it only took the Lions one play to get in the end zone after a Viking turnover, Mitchell connected with Herman Moore for the 27-yard touchdown on the first play after the interception to put the Lions back in the lead, 34-31 with 3:47 left in the third quarter.
(From left to right) Herman Moore, Brett Perriman, and Johnnie Morton all had over 100 yards receiving and one touchdown reception(Perriman had 2).
The score was still 34-31 as the game entered the fourth quarter, but it could have been 38-34 in favor of the Vikings if not for a holding penalty on Minnesota’s Pete Bercich which negated a 55-yard punt return touchdown by Palmer toward the end of the third quarter.
However, the Lions were still in front when t drove from their 33-yard-line to the Vikings’ 18-yard-line, thanks to three receptions by Perriman for 38 yards when Mitchell connected with Perriman again for a 18-yard touchdown, only to have Moore be called for offensive pass interference, negating the touchdown and pushing Detroit back 10 yards to the Minnesota 28.
Detroit would gain six more yards to set up a 40-yard field goal by Hanson, but he missed, keeping the score at 34-31.
However, the Detroit defense would force the Vikings to punt for the third straight time, giving the Lions the ball back, but at their seven-yard-line.
After a 21-yard pass to Moore, Mitchell handed off to Sanders, who for the first time in the game broke off a long run, as he busted open for a 53-yard run.
But towards the end of the run, Minnesota cornerback Corey Fuller came in from behind and stripped the ball out of Sanders’ hands, which was recovered by Orlando Thomas for his third fumble recovery of the day, giving the Vikings the ball back at their own 20-yard-line.
But for the fourth straight time, the Vikings were forced to punt as they would go three-and-out, giving the Lions the ball back at exactly the 50-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass to Perriman on 1st down, Mitchell handed the ball off to Sanders, who once again bust through the line and down the right sideline, this time hanging on to the ball for a 50-yard touchdown to increased the Lions’ lead to 41-31 with 5:18 to go in the game.
Needing two scores, the Vikings went almost exclusively to the air on their ensuing possession, as Moon completed six of seven passes for 55 yards on a eight-play, 65-yard drive which culminated with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Moon to Carter which cut the Lions’ lead to three points, 41-38 with 2:06 to go.
Even though the Vikings had two timeouts left and the two-minute warning, Green decide to go for the onside kick, which was recovered by Herman Moore at the Vikings’ 46-yard-line.
After Sanders was stopped for no gain on 1st down, the Lions gambled and attempted to pass on 2nd down.
The gamble paid off as Mitchell connected with Moore for 29 yards, as he joined Perriman and Morton as 100-yard receivers in the game for the Lions, and a Detroit 1st down at the Minnesota 17-yard-line.
Sanders would get the ball on the next three plays but ended losing four yards as Detroit faced a 4th-and-14 with about 40 seconds to go.
Fontes could have gambled and attempted to go for the 1st down, which if successful would have automatically sealed the win for the Lions as Minnesota had used up their timeouts, but instead called on Hanson to try a 39-yard field goal to push the lead to six points.
Hanson’s kick was true and the Lions had a 44-38 lead with 35 seconds left, but still giving the Vikings one last chance.
Moon hit three passes for 45 yards to get the Vikings to the Lions’ 38-yard-line for one last shot at a Hail Mary to steal the win.
103 of Barry Sanders' 138 yards came on two runs in the 4th quarter.
But Moon’s Hail Mary attempt would be picked off by Detroit’s Sean Vanhorse sealing the 44-38 victory for the Lions and ending a wild game that saw both teams combined for 82 points, making it the second-highest scoring game on Thanksgiving Day, and a combined 919 yards of offense with 746 of them coming through the air.
The Vikings would win their next two games, but drop their final two games, ending the season with a 8-8 record and marking the first time in the Dennis Green era that the time the missed the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Lions rode their high-powered offense to four more wins as they ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak to finish with a 10-6 record and earned their third straight playoff berth and fourth in five years, thanks to Mitchell’s 4,338 passing yards and Moore’s 123 receptions, which broke Carter’s record he set the previous season(Ironically, Carter would once again would finish the season with 122 receptions).
But in the Wild Card Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Mitchell self-destructed as he threw four interceptions and was replaced by Don Majkowski(the man who Brett Favre replaced in Green Bay to begin his legendary career) as the Lions fell to Philadelphia 58-37.
Mitchell remained with the Lions for three more seasons and helped Detroit to another playoff berth in 1997, though that was primarily because of Sanders’ 2, 053 rushing yards that season, before he lost his starting job to Charlie Batch during the 1998 season, which was his last one in Detroit.
Mitchell played with the Baltimore Ravens for the 1999 season and then with the Cincinnati Bengals for the 2000 and 2001 seasons before ultimately hanging up his cleats after 11 NFL seasons in which he threw for a career 15, 692 yards and 95 touchdown passes.
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